marc hofer
@marchofer
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shoot/edit with ITV News in Asia. Former Nairobi, Kampala, Beirut, Beijing, Brussels but now back in Beijing unexpectedly .
Joined April 2009
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How is to work as a foreign journalist in China these days ? A little 🧵… ( with 📸)
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How is it these days as a foreign journalist to operate in China you ask ? Well, let me give you a little update now that I am back for about 7 months. Thread 1/
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If you haven’t lived in China the past 3 years it’s probably hard to understand how utterly bonkers the whole situation is of just dropping almost all pandemic control measures. Not just from a healthcare point of view, but it must be absolutely whiplash for a whole population.
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France asked three Chinese members of the diplomatic mission in Paris to leave as they accuse them of orchastrating a forceful "abduction". But at the the same time try to keep silent about it, not to upset Beijing.
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Now you could ask "but does it matter, if they are not interfering with your reporting ?". Well the thing is, their presence sends a message to people around you. If we can easily spot them, so can local residents.
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The case of the restaurant owner, who got deputised, also shows that they can use local residents to operate on their behalf. Its an efficient, but light touch approach of "boxing in" foreign reporter and journalist.
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On our last trip to Wuhan, it took about 10 minutes after arriving at the train station that we noticed a white car following us all the way to town. It stuck with us till we got to the hotel. The didn't bother to be very discreet about it.
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The next day, they send 2 cars to more or less do the same. When we stopped sometimes they got out and followed us on foot, or checked out our car. Not very subtle either, they wanted us to know that they are there.
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Just as the big announcement on Twitter is made, Chinese state media sends out a little reminder how much Elon Musk’s main enterprise is depending on China.
#Tesla
generated $4.65 billion in China in Q1, 2022, a year-on-year increase of 52.8%. China is now Tesla's second-largest market, accounting for 24.8% of the company's revenue.
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This morning, they didnt follow us from the hotel, but were able to catch up with us eventually. So they either found us in a city of 8 million by tracking our phones or what is more likely, tracking the number plate of the car we hired.
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Anyway, here is the link to our report :
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Every time we left our car to Film even harmless shots, like a landscape or a cityscape, a while army of „minders“ swarmed out to follow us and shield local bystanders to talk to us.
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What they did in Gansu though, was they approached a restaurant owner in a place we just had launch, and somehow motivated her to follow us and taking pictures of us from a distance. Not sure what the purpose was, as she did so not very discreet.
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On arrival it took about 5 minutes until we noticed a handful of cars following us. Inside each car where 4 men and women. As we drive around town the convoy swelled up to 8 cars, constantly as our tail.
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On an earlier trip to the town of Linxia, in Gansu Province, we experienced something similar. After arrival we were followed by cars with men inside, they also sat in the lobby of our hotel and shadowed us while moving through town. They never intervened.
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In all, I have to say, they were not overall aggressive or intimidating. But they just spammed us with personell this time. Other colleagues in the past had it much worse during their encounters. But it showed how much human resources CN sec has two throw at a "problem".
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The drone shots in the piece also have a story. As I was operating the drone, suddenly the GPS radio signal of the drone dropped off and the drone tried to land, after flying slightly erratic, missing its home point. Most likely our "tail" operated some form of drone jammer.
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As comparison here is a run-in with state security in Inner Mongolia I had in 2022, during 0-COVID measures. It seems that increasingly the default setting in many areas is to attach "surveillance" detail to journalists, maybe a remnant of those days.
How is to work as a foreign journalist in China these days ? A little 🧵… ( with 📸)
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During the height of this „guided tour“ I counted 12 following us. At times our little convoy caused even small traffic jams.
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@matyaskzs
@dieworkwear
Nowadays almost every successful Chinese company is connected to Chinese national pride.
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An old man, who was merely chatting to us as I was setting up for filming the Baotou cityscape was quickly approached by security personell when they caught up with us , told to move on and eventually stopped again and his ID recorded ( by the looks of it ).
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Traveling in the country has been increasingly difficult over the last months, mainly through COVID measures. But we still tried to go on reporting trips nonetheless.
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Often they didn’t want to identify them and varied between „we are not following you“ to „we do pandemic prevention measures“.
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The area of operation was not officially restricted nor did we pose any danger to humans or infrastructure. Also, they just stood away like a 100 m and could have told us in person that drone operations are not allowed.
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One story led us to the town of Baotou in Inner Mongolia. The province has a history of being not particularly inviting to foreign media but previous trips have been manageable even if at times difficult.
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We traveled by train from Beijing. We didn’t tell anyone in the province that we were going. We had negative COVID tests at hand and our travel app showed a „clear to travel“ symbol.
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Just to show that this is not an isolated case. During a trip to
#Xinjiang
province last year, we encountered similar surveillance and even more aggressive pushback for just simply trying to do our work . Watch it here:
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personal news: After 4 years I will leave Beijing to start my new role as Sky New's bureau camera man and video editor at the Brussels Bureau end of this month. Brussels, expect me in September.
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That was my last day for
@SkyNews
. After 5 years it’s time to move on. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. But always memorable. Thanks for all the fishes.
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After some areas of one of the major districts in Beijing have been closed off due to COVID cases, in Beijing’s supermarkets the panic buying has begun.
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Reporting on almost any issue in
#China
these days means you are getting your personal surveillance escort. Even if topic totally mundane.
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Is Beijing in a lockdown? Well, not like in Shanghai. But the city has settled into a form of “phantom lockdown” that enables its inhabitants to still roam but limits the activity of the city to a minimum.
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It’s official now, I will be returning to Beijing for a while to fill the position of the camera operator / video editor for ITV’s Asia operation. Did not have this on my 2023 bingo card, but such is life.
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German Intel service eavesdropped and recorded Russian radio traffic that concerning the massacre in Bucha, dismissing Russia’s claim that the act was staged :
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Mass protests in
#paris
started fairly peaceful but eventually escalated into running battles between the police and some protestors.
@SophGarratt
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@JeromeTaylor
Not all wrong. But with this logic we can stop demanding anything from companies that goes against their profit drive: like environmental protection, work condition improvements etc.
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“projects brokered by the World Bank Group can fall short of their idealistic goals. The one in Guinea has left a trail of hunger, displaced and broken families, decimated ecosystems and conditions ripe for the spread of deadly contagions.”
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Tetiana lost her mother during the initial assault on
#Bucha
a year ago, to a bullet fired by a Russian sniper while they tried to get back home. Now she wants find the people who gave the order.
@nmsonline
@markaustintv
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Hiking on the Great Wall around Beijing is always a remarkable experience, independent from the weather.
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@IBJIYONGI
@RobinCRLee
There is also a strong push by the CCP to „own“ the ethnic narrative, meaning all critic of the Chinese state is quickly labeled as a „racist“ comment aimed at Chinese ethnicity. It‘s a shield by the CCP against broader criticism of their policies.
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Last day in centralized quarantine in Shanghai. It’s the 3rd in 18 months and I think I have enough of it now please.
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@Carnage4Life
Just as AppleTV starts to actually have quality products after years of hit-and-miss…shame.
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Our latest story from Ukraine. One year on and the cost of combat are increasingly showing .
@nmsonline
@markaustintv
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@MareikeOhlberg
@cnmediaproject
That’s true. Foreign media in Beijing can also get an exception and receive access to a dedicated line via 3rd party providers like TATA or similar. That same can be applied for some Chinese media. It’s up to the govt to grant that exception, but it’s possible.
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Nice to be home. Just got held for about 2h at Beijing airport for no reason except of „we have to check your visa“ on return from Hong Kong. Same for colleagues
@chesh
and
@SkyGreenfield
.
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So, I guess I am back in Beijing for the foreseeable future. Did not expect that when I sat on a plane out in mid 2022.
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As my time in China is coming to an end and traveling around the country is still paired with some risks of getting stuck, I explore the last remnants of the Beijing surroundings I haven't seen yet. Like the Yinshan pagodas forest, where you can also find beautiful butterflies.
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Remember the audit company that apparently issued a clean bill of health to the VW operations in Xinjiang ? Well, things seem to be complicated.
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I am always amazed how people who spent most of their time in China living in Shanghai ( pre-lockdown ) have at times are rather radically different view of the country and certain issues then people who lived for most of their time in Beijing.
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A surprise visitor to our little green-patch inside my apartment complex in Beijing: A Hoopoe ( Upupa epops).
#BirdsOfBeijing
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@youniskashmiri1
Yes. We have been in the Xinjiang region several times over the last 4 years and the situation there is even worse:
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1 /x Since a data leak by the Chinese cyber security firm I-Soon gave us a rare glimpse behind China's curtain of cyber operations, even if it is limited, there a few interesting take aways which solidify some suspicions. Here is our story
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Frontline protestors and other demonstrators tried to vacate the
#PolyUHK
this morning but where forced back in by police. It seems the police wants to contain them in the rather demolished campus.
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Excess of an economy that is heavily built on construction expansion paired with a wealth-storage ideology that is hinged mainly on real estate ownership.
This video speaks volumes about the oversupply in China's housing market. 15 tower blocks in Kunming 昆明, the capital of Yunnan province, were demolished last month after sitting unfinished for eight years.
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Went to shoot at story in
#kharkiv
today. Almost a year on, the city is still under regular attacks by Russia. Residential houses, damaged by earlier attacks, remain in limbo, abandoned by most of their residents. The playground a silent reminder of more peaceful days.
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As the world is again in turmoil I decided to take some time off and explore the Belgium side of the Ardennes over the weekend.
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Our latest story from
#kyiv
: A capitol city that is suffering from the squeeze on its vital infrastructure cause by Russian attacks as the winter is approaching fast:
@haynesdeborah
@sophiacmcbride
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Great write up by
@Melaniegouby
on the "new" insurgency in Eastern Congo. Reading it almost put be back into 2012 while I was there covering the last round of "rebellion". It is a merry-go-around of conflict at this stage that never gets truly resolved.
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@JackBHAFM
It was like that in the past. But they lifted it mainly after 2008. It might come back at some point. They could technically stop us right in our tracks, but so far the policy seems to be still not “quite there”. They do have extensive tracking systems of different sorts.
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@stprehn
@RikeFranke
@halvarflake
In der deutschen Verwaltung ist das Konzept des “Expatriats” einfach nie so richtig eingezogen. For better or worse ( often worse ).
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We spent a day with the
#ukrainian
border guard in the tripe frontier area where Russia, Belorussia and Ukraine come together. A few month earlier this was the „northern“ front, as Russian units tried to rush to Kyiv. Here are some impressions.
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The speed and the scope of the protests in China is truly surprising. I would have not expected such a development in such a short span of time. When things move in China, they move.
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Man, the amount of “candid and honest” discussions we have over the last few months on so many topics with China makes you wonder what they all talked about the years before.
China’s Liu He & Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had a “pragmatic, candid & constructive” conversation, China’s commerce ministry said.
2nd time the two have spoken since Yellen came into office.
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Despite some growing pains,
@ProtonPrivacy
is on the right track and could be a significant player in the future when they can keep riding the momentum. I started using it about 4 years ago and never looked back.
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One year ago the city of
#Kharkiv
was at the frontline of the Russian invasion , under intermittent shelling ever since. Remaining residents are holding on, always wary Russia could try another push in the future.
@nmsonline
@markaustintv
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As Beijing is slowly awakening form it’s phantom-lockdown, the first sign of “normal” is the quick uptick in rush hour traffic.
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In Beijing now, every little spot of green, that is not locked off is now used by its inhabitants as an out door picnic place, especially after the sun sets.
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@dandreoletti
@nconsonery
Though Zoom is a US REGISTERED company, their core operations are based around China it seems. The demand of the CCP and the demand of the intl Users are already colliding. Even if Zoom seperates operations, as they are doing, suspicion on the western side will not vanish.
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By now it should be clear to everyone that the NK regime and its military would not exist without the support of China ( mainly ) and Russia for the past decades. One of those obvious things that everyone more or less stopped talking about.
Chinese and Russian officials stood shoulder to shoulder with Kim Jong Un as they reviewed North Korea's latest nuclear-capable missiles and new attack drones at a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korean state media showed
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@BoatswainTam
@crehage
Well, in all fairness, it’s rich-people-in-China-privilege ( or at least if you can live like the rich ).
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You want to know where many of the
#RareEarth
come from that drives the
#cleanenergy
revolution and what effects it has on local environment and communities ? We went to Baotou in
#China
to take a look. With
@chesh
@leolordjones
: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLFYChw5c0Y
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A rare great egret on the hunt for his dinner on the coast of Hainan. South China Sea.
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After Norton, Hinkle and Tate, Galloway is also making its way on Chinese state media it seems. The whole “contrarian” terminal-online commentator scene, are slowly moving from being on RT to being on CGTN.
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When it comes to reporting on important stories on the African continent the BBC plays still an incredibly strong game among western media brands. Most others don’t invest or are committed enough.
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End of a freelance existence: Excited to announce that I will join
#SkyNews
and their Beijing team from August on.
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The service claims that all the radio traffic and it’s content demonstrates that the act was not done by unruly individuals but ordered from above.
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#sandstorm
, worse in 10 years, engulfs
#Beijing
, making a bad air quality situation even worse.
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@askeeve
@leolordjones
Chinese police, despite the tech capabilities, can be still very low tech in surveillance ( double pronged approach ) and they rely on legacy structures. We had at some point up to 8 cars following us in the past.
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The increasing reality of journalists working in China for Chinese media. The space for even the most soft version of disagreement or discourse is shrinking fast.
Someone who appears to be a journalist for China Daily and Xinhua is profanely calling for
@SixthTone
to fire me because I tweeted an article about human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
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The original repository of the I-Soon data leak on Github was taken down. Wonder if it was MS on request of Chinese govt or they got into the account that posted it.
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Ah yes, Ted Cruz, the undying friend and supporter of the HK democracy movement.
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This is pretty massive. I had Malaria two times and the memories of my first night still haunt me. I was privileged and could afford medicine and proper healthcare. I recovered fairly easily. Many have not. This is a real breakthrough.
NEW: Oxford researchers find malaria vaccine is highly effective:
• Vaccine efficacy of 77% in African children
• Vaccine, trialled in 450 children, shows favourable safety profile and was well-tolerated
More info ⬇️
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Our latest report from the frozen frontlines of
#Bakhmut
#ukraine
where a trip to the rather safe rear defensive lines makes us experience a Russian artillery barrage first hand.
@haynesdeborah
@sophiacmcbride
@AndrewTravel_UA
:
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After wrapping up the coverage on the Olympic Games, I thought I am going to treat myself with a bite of home. I might be prejudiced, but I try to be fair.
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Also it implicates certain units and individuals of deliberately killing civilians. The descriptions are so clear that at times certain photographed corpses can be attributed to specific radio calls.
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Just noticed that, when you have a Chinese Apple ID, the podcast app is severely censored. Even a VPN won't help you, as the censorship happens on the Apple servers in China. Apple censors its Chinese App-Store but first time I have noticed that it does the same on the podcasts.
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